All the tunes were made famous by rock stars whose death, while much lamented, had no adverse effect on their stardom.

But take a closer look at the guitarist with the Dead Rockstars. He might be singing in the style of the late John Lennon, but Dan Britton is very much a musician of the moment.

Dan is the voice with the band Katy Lied, who are winning critical acclaim and a lot of national airplay with their first recordings.

The single Late Arrival was on the Radio2 playlist for four weeks and the album of the same name was a station album of the week.

Dan was asked to sing on the record by songwriter Duncan Hamilton, who masterminded the idea for a collection of contemporary Americana, Eagles-style rock.

The buzz around Katy Lied (the name comes from a Steely Dan album) has surprised Dan, who at the age of 42 has no expectation that the music business will make him a star.

He became of full-time musician only two years ago, which was about the time he met Hamilton, in a guitar shop.

Previously Dan combined his musical commitments with a job running Sheehans record store in Leicester, which he did for 12 years.

He said: "Deciding to turn professional was a case of reaching a stage where it was now or never. I have a young family with a three-year-old daughter who I can spend time with and so it seemed a sensible age to do it. I'm not looking for stardom."

That's probably just as well, because performing covers of Nirvana (Kurt Cobain), The Rolling Stones (Brian Jones) and Lynard Skynard (too many to name) won't make Dan a celebrity.

What it will do is is give Dan and his three fellow band members a chance to do what they love best – play classic, full-on rock music for the 50, 60s and 70s.

Dan, who regularly plays in Rutland with several other bands (more of which later) said: "The Dead Rock Stars is great fun for us, because it is a chance to play the music we have loved for years."

Dan's fellow enthusiasts in the line-up are Carl Dawson, and Jason Spencer, who with Dan form a trio on guitar and vocals, Tall Andy, from Whissendine, on bass, and Uncle Peter on drums.

The line-up is flexible, though, and the members also perform as The Fabulous LasVegas Lounge band, when they bring a bit more rock and roll to proceedings.

There's more to Dan's repertoire than this, even, as he is also a familiar sight at Rutland venues as singer, guitarist and pecussionist with Irish-style trio Govannen

Multi-instrumentalist Chris Conway and fiddle player Adele McMahon complete the band, which plays traditional irish music and contemporary songs from the the likes of The Waterboys, U2 and the Saw Doctors.

This is an altogether more intimate experience for the audience, who are kept entertained by Conway's witty presentation and the beautiful playing of McMahon.

Dan rates her as a world-class Irish fiddler, who he recommends should be seen by everyone with a love of exquisite playing.